Water-purifier.



H. KORTEN.

WATER 'PURIPIER. ALPIPLIOATIION FILED MAY 2a, 1907.

1908. a sums-51mm 1.

fitter/1112,13

Patented Oct. 20

H. KORTEN.

WATER PURIFIER. APPLICATION FILED MAY 23, 1907.

Patented Oct. 20, 1908.

'3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

F1 .6 m a. F4 11.

anwwtog C] Hot 1 my;

H. KORTEN.

WATER PURIPIER. APPLICATION FILED MAY 2a, 1907.

901,352. Patented 0011.20, 1908] 3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

Mme/awn WWW UNITED s'r 'rEs PATENTS oFF cE.

HENRY-KORTEN, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AssIeNoa'ro FREDERICK 'Y. NICHOLS, oF cnieAGo, ILLINOIS.

wa'mammmma.

no. 991,852. I

To ell wlwm *itjmay concern:

Be 1t known that I, Hminr Komn, a citizen of the United States, residingat Chicago, 1n the county of Cook and State. of Illi- .5 now, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Water-Purifiers, of which the following-is a specification. j

The present invention relates-tozcertain new and useful improvements in water purifiers 'for general purposes, but especially for feed water for steam boilers and for other purposes where non-scale forming water is required. v

The object of my invention is to reduce a water purifier in which water may from a large percentage of the impurities contained in it, either in solution or in mechanical suspension, and which will reduce the remaining impurities to non-scale-forming substances. A further object is. to produce a purifier that will act continuousl and automatically without requiring attention and without material obstruction to the flpw of water.

A. further object is to produce a purifier in which the solid foreign matter removed from the water will be so de ited as not to interfere with the flow 0 water and so. as to removed and renewed by manual manipulation without the use of tools.

"A further object is to produce a I urifier that will operate with increased e ciency and rapidity under the influence of heat applied either to the water before entering the purifier-or applied to the purifier direct. ith the above obj ects in view and further I 0b]6(5tS..WhlCl1 appear asthe nature of -my invention'is more fully disclosed,-I have invented a new and useful water purifier and, while claimin .every form in which the invention defined y the appended. claims 'naafi'be, embodied have illustrated ensemin which: Figure'l is a side view of the exterior portionsof my purifier'showing the cover plates that give access to its interior arrangements.

Fig. 2 is' a sectional view on the -line Specification 9! Letters Patent.

a uueon m n, as, 1907. mm No. 375,194.

be readily removable by blowing ofi' without removing any ofthe partsof the purient thereof on. the annexed drawings.

' Eof Fig. 1 with the cover plates removed.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of Fig. 1. Fig. 4- is a sectional 'view on the line B-B, Figs. 1. and 2. Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 0-0, Fi s. 1 and 2. Fig. 6 is a .top. lan .view of t e mercury seal at the top ,0 the ;purifier. Fig. 7 is a sectional view of Fig. 6

on the line CC. Fig. 8 is-an exterior side view of the mercury seal. Figs. 9 and 1.0 are plan-and. sectional Views of one of the elements of a repeating series of electro-positive plates which occupy the interior of the purifier. Figs. 11 and 12, 13 and 14, 15 and 16,17, and 18, 19 and 20 are plan and sectional :views of other positive elements making up the series of electroplates which is repeated -from the top downward in the purifier. Figs. 21, 22, and 23 represent respectively .top, side and bottom views of the bottom ielectroplate, the last of the whole positive -ser1es.

Figs. 24 and 25 are to and sectional views of a copper or other e ectro negative lperforated metal basket, which is suspended I Patented Oct. so, 1908.-

' from the bottom of the series of electro positive plates shown in Figs. 9 to 20. Fi s. 26

and 27 are plan and side views of e ectro positive slotted disks which are placed in the basket of Fig. 25. Figs. 28 and 29 are Ian and side views of two of the disks of ig. 26 as they are meshed together when placed in-the basket of Fig. 25-. Fig. 30 is a sectional view of the entire apparatus on the line X--X of Figs. 2, 3 and 5. V

Similar reference characters are used to designate corresponding parts of the appaj ratus throughout the several views.

' 1 is the base of the punfier screwed into the lower chamber 2 and provided with the .pipe outlet 3 through which the lower chamber can be blown off to remove sediment. The lower chamber 2 is provided with a threaded open' in its '11 per side into -which the cyliiifer 4, formiig the; central portion of the purifier, is screwed. The opposite end of the cylinder 4 is screwed into an up er section. 5 having the chamber 6, them et port 7 ,andthe outlet port 8. The *inlet '2' has branch passages 9 leadin to the chamber 6 on either side of "the out at pas- {sage 8 which enters centrally at the top off the chamber. The cylindrical portions of the purifier is provided with a copper lining 10and contains throughout its length a se-- ries .of zinc or zinc amalgam electroplates ioa resting at the bottom on the iron plate 27 which rests on lugs 13 in the lower chamber 2 and so disposed that they form an inner cylindrical space 11 and an outer annular space 12 which spaces afiord tortuous passages through and between the perforations and projections of the electroplates.

side. The plate 16 is in turn supported onand bolted centrally to the plate 20 (Figs. 15 and 16) by the bolt 19 (Fig. 30). This plate 20 is similar to plate 16 inverted but in addition to the ring and arms it has on' its upper side a horizontal web 21 with the perforations 22. Below the late 20 are plates 23 and 24 which are placed respectively around and within the projecting ring of plate 20 thus completin the set. The rin of plate 20 has a pro ecting edge 25 which registers in a corresponding recess 26 in plate 16 of the second set thus forming a continuous tight cylinder built up of the rings. The sets of plates are continued downwardly to the bottom of cylinder 4 where the bottom plate 27 rests on the lugs 13. This bottom plate 27 is formed as clearly shown in Figs.21, 22, and 23 and has the slotted holes 28 for supporting the metal basket 29 (shown in Figs. 24 and 25) by means of the hooks 30. This basket is filled with the disks 31 placed together as shown at 32 (Figs. 28 and 29).

The chamber 6 (Fig. 30) contains an an nular cup 33 which fits in the recess 26 of the top plate 16. This annular cup has a cover 34 into which are fitted the pins 39 to keep inverted cup 38 properly immersed in the mercury, fitting the top of the cup and having a central aperture provided with web 41, on which rests the lower end of conduit 35, and lugs or cars 42 which fit into suitable slots in said conduit 35 to keep itfrom moving. This conduit, preferably a brass pipe, communicates with the outlet passage 8 by means of a threaded ring 36 on its upper portion which can be screwed up against the lower side of rin 40 which fits into the outlet 8 to form a light joint.

The annular cup 33 contains mercury in the annular space 37 into which the rim of an inverted cup 38 is immersed thus forming a mercury seal between the center of the annular cup 33 and the conduit 35.

Having now described its various parts the operation of the purifier will be readil understood: The wwater enters the ort and passes to the chamber 6 by the ranch The electroplates are used in sets of six members passages 9. It then flows downwardly with a zigzag movement created by the position of apertures and ribs of plates 15, 16, 20 and 23 as. shown by the arrows in Fig. 30, through the annular space 12 to the lower chamber 2. Here it enters the basket 29 through the various apertures 39 where it comes in contact with the disks 32 and then ascends in the central cylindrical space 11 with a zigzag movement created by the position of apertures and ribs of plates 24, 20, 16 and 14 as shown by the arrows in Fig. 30 from which it passes through the mercury seal in the cup, 33 and the conduit 35 to the outlet 8.

r The electro plates in the cylinder, 4, and

29, the presence of the water sets up gal-.

vanic action between them, the effect of which is to reduce the scaleforming carbonates and sulfates to oxids and other nonscale forming substances, a portion of which are insoluble. The tortuous passage of the water through the zigzag openings in the plate provides large surface contact on the plates to insure practically all the water being electrically acted upon; while the devious flow agitates the water to such an extent as to cause the insoluble particles held in suspension to accumulate and cohere in masses of sufiicient size to settle as a precipitate in the lower chamber, 2, whence it can be withdrawn at any time through the outlet, 3, or so that they maybe more readily removed by the mercury filter at the top. The mercury filter is especially eflicient 1n removing the oil and grease from the water, as the dlfierence in specific gravity between the oil and the mercury is so great that the oil cannot pass downwardly through it. The

mercury acting-as an electrode increases the electrical action within the device and hence,

serves in the dual capacity of filtering substance and supplementary electrode. In this latter capacity, that is, to increase the electrical action, mercury ma be used also by forming the electro-positlve plate of zinc amalgam.

Since the efliciency of my purifier depends upon the degree of electrical action set up its action may be greatly accelerated by the Accordingly I heat the I,

cury filter at the top of said casing for removing the lighter impurities, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus of the class described the combination with an outer casing of inlet and outlet ports at the top of said casing, a vertical series of perforated electroplates extending downwardly in said casing, interlocking rings on said electroplates forming outer and inner vertical passages, a sediment chamber at the bottom of said casing, and

means for conducting water from the inlet in a circuitous course downwardly through one vertical passage and upward in a circuitous course through the other vertical passa e to the outlet.

3. 11 an apparatus of the class described the, combination with an outer casing of a series of electroplates in said casing, and a perforated metallic basket containing interlocking disks at the bottom of said series of electroplates.

4. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with an outer casing of a series of electroplates having projections and perforations and interlocking rings to form outer and inner circuitous passages vertically in said casing, and means for conductmg water downwardly through the outer passage and upwardly through the inner passage.

5. In an apparatus of the class described, the combinatlon of relatively electro-posltlve and electro-negative electrodes with a mer- 6. In an apparatus of the class described,

the combination of an outer casing, electroplates therein, means for conducting the water over the surfaces of said electroplates and a mercury seal for arresting suspended matter in the water passing therethrough by mechanical and electrical action.

7. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of an outer casing, inlet and outlet ports in the top thereof, a sediment chamber in the bottom thereof, outer and inner vertical passages formed by electroplates in said casing, means for conducting water down through one passage and up through the other, and a mercury seal through which to pass thewater after passing over the electroplates.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY KORTEN.

Witnesses:

FRANCES E. SHEEHY, HELEN F. LnlLIs. 

